In 2015, Comedian CJ Hunt began documenting the movement to remove confederate monuments in New Orleans. Premiering at film festivals, including AFI Docs Film Festival, Americans can experience the film themselves on July 5th with its television premiere on PBS through the POV documentary series. Far from just a news-style look at a controversial issue, The Neutral Ground is also a personal journey for CJ Hunt as he embraces his Black identity.
(ITVS)
Growing up Black and Philipino, CJ Hunt’s father plays a key role in the film, with the filmmaker returning home to listen to lessons he previously closed his mind to. As CJ learns more about the generational pain that African Americans have endured, the presence of monuments dedicated to Civil War confederate figures become more oppressive. As the monuments become entangled in political legal tape, CJ takes viewers through both sides of the argument to try and find a figurative neutral ground.
The poignant title comes from one particular monument in New Orleans, although the film also depicts the removal of monuments that paid tribute to Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard. The title actually refers to the Battle of Liberty Place Monument, which commemorated the White League’s attempt to take over the city in 1874. Erected in 1891, by 1974, the city had to add a plaque explaining that the monument, which included the words “White supremacy” in the inscription, was no longer in line with current views. This monument was located in a midian, also known as “Neutral ground.”
The film is primarily shot with handheld cameras out in the field, but occasionally uses talking head interviews. Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu provides some of the most insightful information about the politics that made what should have been a quick removal process that started in 2015 drag on for years. Adding to the political spectrum of the narrative is the 2016 presidential election.
For anyone unclear on the issues surrounding these monuments, The Neutral Ground does a great job of completing the timeline of events, from the end of the Civil War and the feelings of defeat in the South, to the rewriting of history and the erection of these monuments during the Reconstruction era. The monuments were erected with racist ideals at their core and while the stories around them changed over time, it’s undeniable that they were erected for the wrong reasons.
The Neutral Ground is a documentary about leveling the playing field in a southern city that has thrived thanks to contributions from its Black residents. It corrects a few lies your teachers and parents may have told you about the Civil War, but most importantly, it asks viewers to think about the sights you see everyday and look at them from a different point of view.
I give The Neutral Ground 5 out of 5 rounds of “Spoonful of Sugar.”